From the family to the self
by oldpun
Summary: Future!fic: At Deuce's and Dina's wedding, Ty realizes that he's graduated from having to take care of everyone to wanting to. Very very brief foray into TyGunther and mentions of past TyTinka, but mainly Ty being sentimental.


a/n: Because watching this show made me realize that Ty has been in charge of making sure his little sister, her girl and guy best friends, and her girl best friend's little brother (and _his_ friend) are okay for a really long time. Since this is future!fic, I've got everyone's ages at: Rocky, Cece, Deuce, and Dina; 22, Flynn and Henry; 18, Ty; 24 or 25, and Gunther and Trina; 23.

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><p>It was the reception that got him. Ty noticed, from going to other friends' weddings, that it was always the reception that got people nostalgic.<p>

He wasn't knocking it – Deuce was like a little brother and, somewhere along the way, had also become a really good friend. Of course he'd get, you know. Emotional and all that. He also had to say that having all his family and family friends gathered in a reception hall with dim, romantic lighting was probably helping that emotional thing along, too.

Ty sipped his extremely fancy, extremely expensive champagne and eyed the white tiger that was lounging where it was chained with a diamond studded leash near the bar. Dina's mother had never lost her affinity for big functions, and while she could be convinced to back off Dina's birthday parties – especially since she was twenty-two now – no one had even attempted to tell her how small to scale Dina's wedding back to. As it were, Ty was still trying to get over the shock of the trained (trained!) swans that had been let loose flying overhead at the ceremony when Dina had entered the church. The whole day had been a myriad of expensive, flourishing shocks. Like a white tiger near the bar, which was almost like Dina's mom was expensively and passive-aggressively frowning upon getting drunk and acting stupid or something (though, if she _was_, it was working).

He found himself sighing into his drink, and tried to separate himself from the weird, soft sadness building up in him by looking around. Rocky and CeCe were, of course, on the dance floor and jamming out with each other. Rocky, though she'd given up her dreams of dancing professionally and had moved on to the efficient world of lawyering, hadn't entirely lost her edge in dancing, not yet. Of course, her moves paled next to Cece, the struggling artist who _had_ pursued dance as a lifestyle and was, consequently (or was it of course? Rocky and CeCe had always had a hard time not preoccupying each other's lives) living with Rocky. Ty stifled a laugh as he saw their boyfriends standing off to the side awkwardly, attempting to dance with girlfriends who were completely ignoring them. Good, he didn't have to play mean big brother and go threaten them about if their hands slipped too low.

In the center of the dance floor were the bride and groom, dancing a tango that was wildly inappropriate because, one, the DJ was playing hip hop at the moment, and two, Deuce still only knew how to dance the woman's part and was currently being passionately dipped by Dina. They were cute though – handsome and beautiful, Ty corrected in his mind. Right for each other. Good for each other.

At the table off but nearest to the dance floor was Flynn. He'd also brought a girlfriend, though if Ty's memory served right, CeCe'd said he planned on breaking up with her soon so he could be a free agent at college. It showed a little, if that was indeed true, by how he wasn't really paying attention to her but instead had an arm slung over Henry's shoulder. He was laughing hard at something, his whole body shaking with it. It was probably something he himself had said because, instead of growing out of his smart mouth like they'd all hoped, he'd only grown into it. Henry, another fixture of Flynn's childhood that they'd all assumed he'd grow out of but were (instead pleasantly) surprised he didn't, was smiling vaguely and nodding at Flynn. Years of exposure told Ty that was pretty much the closest Henry got to busting out laughing. Geez, how was it that Flynn, tiny Flynn who he'd been able to pick up and carry home after the kid had overdosed on energy drinks, had just graduated high school? Was sitting across the huge reception hall with a pretty girlfriend he was ignoring – was planning on cruelly stringing along and breaking her heart and they'd have to have a talk about that later, Ty and Flynn, man to man, about respecting women – with his best friend who had been out of college since the third grade and by now had built a medicinal company empire?

Ty ran a hand over his face with unoccupied hand, sighing again. _God_, he thought closing his eyes, he was getting _old_.

"Is this seat taken?"

He didn't even have to look up to know who it was. The words had the same, familiar accent tinting them they'd always had. "Gunther, I don't own the joint and it's not my party. Sit wherever you freaking want."

The squeak of the seat next to him told him Gunther had taken the less than open invitation, regardless of Ty's tone. He put in his order for a drink – something lavish and complicated, it was sure to be colorful and fruity, whatever would come back – with the bartender first. They sat in silence for a bit, and Ty eventually opened his eyes again.

"So. You are cranky, yes?" Gunther asked lightly, like it wasn't rude. But then again, the Hessenheffers had never really had a concept of rude. Or just ignored it, at any rate.

"No, I'm really happy and I just choose to express it by snapping at people," Ty replied in clipped tones. Geez, he hadn't actually felt that bad until Gunther had showed up. And it sort of hurt, in his unguarded state, to contemplate why, so he didn't. "_Christ_, why are you even here, no one likes you."

Gunther laughed, the same boisterous confidence as always. "Oh, do not tell me you had a thing for the bride?"

Ty had unfortunately returned to his drink sullenly, so choked and spluttered at that. "No way," he hissed brokenly as he gasped for air. "Why would you even say that?"

Gunther sighed and lounged against the bar. Ty had half a mind to inform him how close he was leaning towards the white tiger, but the other half was sort of wishing for the tiger to develop a sudden taste for glittery, blonde foreigners, so he kept his mouth shut. "It is a _wedding_," he said, like Ty was stupid and missing out on something. "Why else are people sad at weddings? Unless it is Deuce you are pining after, hm, mister best man?"

He could just strangle Gunther. "No. Seriously, have you even looked at what a good couple those two are? They deserve each other."

The bartender returned with Gunther's drink – he'd been right, it was fluorescent mix of pink and orange and yellow – before Gunther could decide what he wanted to say. Ty could see him thinking, and wasn't sure if he wanted to hear what Gunther was coming up with.

"I'm just feeling old," Ty offered as explanation, so he wouldn't have to make the decision of whether or not to let Gunther arrive at his own conclusions. "Seeing that everyone's grown up. Realizing I'm not needed."

Gunther made a scoffing clucking sound with his tongue. "Then why not focus on yourself? I see you did not bring a date, why not find a good woman and begin to discuss the matter of her dowry with her father?"

Ty laughed, a small, derisive sound. "I kind of think you only say things like that nowadays to get a reaction, offended or appalled or whatever. You've lived in the States long enough to know better."

Gunther smiled a little, that real, honest smile that Ty had seen only a few times before. "Ah." He only waved his hand in the air dismissively. "The subject still stands, hah?"

Ty's eyebrows furrowed together and he stared at the remnants of his champagne instead at how Gunther's expression had turned into some sort of shade of coy. "Just like the accent," he said quietly, evasive. "You have to be doing it on purpose by now, right?"

Gunther didn't answer, excused his silence by taking a sip from his color palette of a cocktail.

"So, Tinka left already?" Ty broached carefully. He hadn't been looking for her. No, really, he hadn't even see her at the wedding itself, he'd made sure he focused on Deuce and Dina and keeping CeCe from bawling and falling out of her seat in the middle of the vows.

"Oh." Gunther's little noise of…whatever it was sounded genuinely shocked. "Oh, no, she couldn't come. I represent the both of us."

Ty swallowed thickly. "Ah. So modeling is easier to get time off from than being your own boss at your own designing label?"

Gunther shrugged. "Sometimes." He eyed Ty with a questioning expression. "And speaking of, what do you do, by the way?"

Ty knew he could take offense to that if he wanted, the question was kind of built up of fighting words. But Gunther's tone was only inquisitive, and Ty was once again reminded that not only had they all grown up, but that the Hessenheffers were both kinder when they were by themselves. Always had been.

"I work at a company. You know, general business degree, general desk job, and I'm just hanging on and hoping to get a promotion." He laughed, and this time it was snidely at himself. "I used to refuse to 'dance for the man', and now I work for him."

Gunther was tapping his fingers against the glass of his drink, making little _ching_ noises. "Were you hoping to see my sister here?"

It was Ty's turn to shrug. He looked out at the dance floor, it was now a slow dance, and at everyone swaying together. Rocky and CeCe had returned to their dates, and he spotted his mother and father and CeCe's mom and her date dancing together as well. A quick glance to Flynn showed the amount disconnect he was having with his girlfriend, as Flynn was still deep in conversation with Henry while his date was looking wistfully at all the couples dancing. "You probably know, since you two share everything – "

"Not as much as we used to," Gunther protested, but only lightly so Ty knew he could go on.

"But we dated. I mean, briefly in high school. And then last year too. _That_ was pretty heavy. But. You know, it just didn't work out."

Gunther hummed. "I knew about the first time, that it was you. The second time I just knew she had a boy. Should I apologize, on her behalf?"

Ty shook his head and tipped his glass back, draining it. "Naw, I pretty much figured we wouldn't, I don't know, hook back up tonight. Weddings aren't actually too magical, I don't think, no matter what the movies try to say. I kinda only wanted to talk to her, clear the air and all – it wasn't a clean break up. And I had resigned myself to some sort of awkward…thing. I steeled myself up for this day, y'know?" He laughed, and now this time it sounded bitter. "Isn't that stupid? So I got let down when we didn't have any run-ins before and just figured she was avoiding me. Turns out she _was_, but, y'know. Took the plan that made a fool out of me. She's always been good at that. Does it on purpose, I think."

Gunther put his drink down and turned towards him. "Maybe, maybe not, but this is still a wedding. Forget about those things for a day. You should be happy."

Ty put his empty glass down as well and turned towards Gunther, only to make tit for tat. Or something. "I know, right? I should be happy." He ran a hand through his hair wearily as he met Gunther's eyes. "But I'm just feeling stupid and useless. All this wedding's good for is me making bad speeches and realizing everyone's grown and doesn't need me like they used to. Forget midlife crisis in your thirties, I'm having one right now."

Gunter rested his elbows on his knees and his chin in his hands. "So again, why not focus on yourself?"

Ty scoffed and rubbed at his forehead. "Man, maybe you and your sister are great at being selfish, but I don't work that way. Wasn't raised that way. I watch out for my own."

Gunther made this face, one that Ty couldn't really decipher, and leaned in closer. "You said yourself, they don't need you like before."

Ty rolled his eyes and tried not to think of how Gunther kind of looked like, sounded like, acted like Tinka. "What_ever_ dude – "

And then Gunther was leaning really close in, taking Ty's chin into his fingers and tilting his head for a kiss. Ty blinked, saw it coming the second before it happened, and still let Gunther's lips slide over his. For the brief few seconds it lasted, Ty took in the softness of his lips and warmth of his breath, before Gunther gently pulled away. After it was over, after Ty started thinking straight again, he wasn't too sure if he'd allowed that because Gunther was Tinka's twin brother or what, and he had a feeling Gunther knew that too.

"See?" the blonde had an impish smile in place, leaning back against the bar confidently. "That was selfish, letting yourself get kissed by me because you liked how it felt, not acting responsible and stopping me. And you are still you afterwards, and the sky did not fall down either. So focus on you – it cannot hurt anything."

Ty scowled, on principle, and scrubbed the back of his hand over his mouth. "Whatever," he muttered, flushing and turning back towards the floor. "You Hessenhoffers are so _weird_."

But Ty was smiling, if only a little, and he could see it again, underneath all the nostalgia and build up of little regrets: hope. After all, he reminded himself, this was only the beginning of their adult lives. He was still needed, just less so for them and more so for him.

And that was okay.


End file.
